Roll of Honor
Incident
Location: New Jersey Incident Date: Saturday, September 28, 1918
Patrolman Frank Grozio contracted influenza while transporting a local non-registrant for the Selective Service Act of 1917 to Fort Dix, New Jersey.
Patrolman Grozio became ill upon his return home and was attended to at his house till he died of complications of Influenza. He was the first death related to influenza in Nanticoke.
Patrolman Grozio served with the Nanticoke City Police Department for eight months.
Effects of the 1918-1920 Influenza Pandemic on Law EnforcementAlso known as "Spanish Flu" or "LaGrippe," the Influenza Pandemic of 1918 to early 1920, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide—about one-third of the planet’s population—and killed approximately 675,000 Americans. The effect of the influenza epidemic in the United States was so dire that the average life span in the U.S. fell by twelve years. The four waves of the flu began in March 1918 and ended in April 1920. Many officers contracted this virus due to the requirements of their job. The names of every officer who died in the line of duty from the Influenza Pandemic will likely never be known. Still, ODMP researchers continue to uncover new cases as part of our mission never to forget the fallen. Please click here to view ODMP's Influenza memorial, listing all known fallen officers from the pandemic.
Also known as "Spanish Flu" or "LaGrippe," the Influenza Pandemic of 1918 to early 1920, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide—about one-third of the planet’s population—and killed approximately 675,000 Americans. The effect of the influenza epidemic in the United States was so dire that the average life span in the U.S. fell by twelve years. The four waves of the flu began in March 1918 and ended in April 1920. Many officers contracted this virus due to the requirements of their job.
The names of every officer who died in the line of duty from the Influenza Pandemic will likely never be known. Still, ODMP researchers continue to uncover new cases as part of our mission never to forget the fallen.
Please click here to view ODMP's Influenza memorial, listing all known fallen officers from the pandemic.
Effects of the 1918-1920 Influenza Pandemic on Law Enforcement
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
Patrolman Frank Grozio died on October 2, 1918 of influenza contracted in the line of duty. He was 28.
He is one of 201 officers honored here.
The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed more people worldwide than the war that preceded it. Police officers worked it without vaccines, without antibiotics, and often without masks, enforcing quarantines, transporting the sick, and standing posts in cities where the dead outpaced the undertakers.
They caught it doing the job. There was no treatment to give them.
Survivors
He was survived by his mother, three brothers, and four sisters.
In Our Keeping
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BO-US-PA-FF2D2054- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
No vaccine, no antibiotics, and you stood the post anyway.
Patrolman Grozio served with the Nanticoke City Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Nanticoke community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Grozio.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Frank Grozio is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 officers honored here.
In PA, 121 of 1,261 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 9.6% of this state's fallen. That is 9.6 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Frank Grozio's cause is highlighted.
How Frank Grozio Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Frank Grozio is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
0 officers from Nanticoke City Police Department are honored on badge.nw.